Good Day
by MercedesBlakeney
Summary: Prof. Lupin has a feeling that it's going to be a good day. But when a certain student starts behaving a certain way, making him feel uncomfortable, he begins to think his prediction was inaccurate. Is he right? Golden Trio and Marauders included.


**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter no matter how much I wish I could have Remus Lupin... Well, if I can't have him, I'll settle for David Thewlis :)**

_Today is going to be a good day, _said Remus Lupin as he woke up. He didn't know why, but he just had a feeling that today was going to be great. But in the middle of a lecture during his Defense Against the Dark Arts class, he began to seriously doubt his hunch from earlier when his watchful gaze fell upon Hermione Granger. Her facial expression startled him so much that he paused mid-sentence for a moment before quickly resuming.

_Oh, no_, he inwardly groaned as he instructed the class to begin reading the chapter on the Cruciatus curse and to have a summary on it next class. He gingerly lowered himself into his seat since he was still a little sore from his last transformation. _I'm getting too old for this_, he joked as he quickly scanned the heads of the students to make sure they were actually reading. Satisfied that they were busying themselves with the assignment, he thought about what had just happened. He knew that look she was giving him, and it scared him more than Voldemort did. _Well, she's never acted like this before_, he reassured himself. _Wait. Had she? _he thought hard before coming to the conclusion that this was the first time she'd looked at him like that before, which slightly comforted him.

"Professor?" called a soft, yet confident voice.

He froze when he recognized to whom the voice belonged. _Merlin's beard! _Remus thought as he slowly looked up to face the student who had called for him. He looked up to see a bushy, brown-haired witch in the front row dreamily looking at him, eyes glazed over and lips turned up into a small smile.

"Yes, Miss Granger?" he asked hoping to keep his tone somewhat neutral, yet gentle.

"I was just wondering how long you would like the summary to be." He felt himself relax when he realized how harmless and innocent the question was.

"No length requirement. Just make sure it's sufficient," he smiled, much more at ease. "Remember: Quality not quantity."

"Ok. Thank you, Professor," she said sweetly in a voice that was much less innocent than her previous statement, batting her eyes. Somewhat shocked at her mildly suggestive tone, he broke eye contact immediately and started grading some Third year essays. As he scratched a few marks here and there, he could feel her constant gaze on him and it felt as if she was burning a hole in his face.

_Oh, man, if the boys could see me now_, Remus chuckled softly as he found himself reminiscing about the good old days. The other Marauders were always giving him grief about his lack of a girlfriend or really any interaction with the opposite sex at all. When he had expressed interest in becoming a professor and wishing someday to come back and teach at Hogwarts, he became the temporary center of the teasing.

"Moony, one of those young witches is going to get a teacher-crush on you, and you aren't going to know what in the wizarding world to do about it," joked James while Sirius added his two-cents worth by winking and blowing kisses at him. They howled with laughter while Remus found the situation to be far from humorous.

"It could be worse," started Peter in a manner that made him hope he had some comforting words for him. "It could be one of those young _wizards_," he said before bursting into a fit of hysterics, also.

_Well, James was right it seems, _he thought, _It would be far worse dealing with a _Mr. _Granger_. Still feeling Hermione's eyes on him, he reluctantly glanced up to see her smiling, expectant face. He awkwardly gave her a small smile back before motioning for her to get back to her work.

_Great Merlin! What am I going to do? _Remus mentally panicked. To be honest the whole situation was making him quite uncomfortable. He hadn't foreseen having to deal with one of his students being infatuated with him, especially when she was the brightest young witch he had ever met. Something like this he might have reasonably expected from Lavender or Parvati, but Hermione? Never in a million years. _Should I say something? _he pondered. He knew it would be best to nip this thing in the bud before it got worse, but he also knew that girls Hermione's age could be quite sensitive about these kind of things and didn't want to hurt her feelings. He knew that she was certainly not like most girls her age, but apparently that did not make her immune to schoolgirl crushes. _How convenient_, he thought sarcastically. Temporarily entertaining the idea of going to the Dumbledore or Minerva for help, he almost immediately dismissed it when he blushed at the thought of those two finding out about his little predicament. _No, _he decided firmly, I will deal with this myself. _Now, how to go about it… _He was about to say something to Hermione about staying after class to talk to him when the bell rang, signaling the beginning of the next period.

"Class dismissed. Don't forget about the summary on the chapter due next class," he said as the students were filing out of the room. All of them except Hermione. Remus noticed with pleasure that she was no longer staring at him in a star-struck manner. Instead she was blankly staring at her parchment, her chocolate-brown eyes clouded with confusion. Encouraged by this major change in behavior, he got up from his desk and slowly approached her.

"Hermione, are you alright?" he asked gently, cautious yet concerned at the same time. Broken from her apparent trance, she quickly looked up at him as a blush started making its way up her cheeks.

"Oh, y-yes, I'm quite alright, P-Professor," she stammered, her cheeks now a very bright shade of pink. "I'm perfectly fine," she added, smiling a little to support her statement. Remus was extremely confused at this point.

"Alright, if you're sure," he said still somewhat unconvinced.

"I'm sure," she replied as she headed for the door. "See you later," she said cheerily making her way to the Great Hall. Soon after, he exited the classroom too, wondering what would be for lunch. Turning the corner, he heard the echoing sounds of Harry and Ron laughing hysterically.

_I wonder what's so funny, _he thought, quickening his pace a bit in the hopes that he would hear more of their conversation.

"Aw, man," Ron said between fits of uncontrollable laughing, "Did you see the way Hermione was staring at Professor Lupin?"

_That's what's so funny apparently_, Remus thought, embarrassed that they had noticed the way Hermione had been acting.

"Did you see his face?" added Harry. "Priceless… I thought I'd never see the day Hermione went all crazy over a guy, much less a professor!"

"I know," said Ron, his laughter now placated to chuckling. "Where did you get that Infatuation spell anyway?"

_Infatuation spell? _Remus said to himself. He knew this spell very well, but the only one he knew about had been made by Harry's dad.

"I made it up," Harry said proudly.

"Did not."

"Did too!" he insisted as they entered the Great Hall, leaving Remus to his thoughts.

_No wonder Hermione was so confused. She had been under a spell._ He sighed, very relieved to find out that Hermione did not in fact have a crush on him. As he walked through the doors, he noticed an absolutely furious Hermione chastising her two very unrepentant friends. _She must have remembered what happened, _he chuckled. _Poor girl's probably mortified. _Taking his seat next to Severus, he began eating thinking no more of the whole thing until he happened to glance up and see a beaming Harry. At that moment Remus suddenly realized how very much like his father that Harry really was, not only in looks but also in behavior. _He'll never know how much like James he is, _he sighed sadly.

RLRLRLRLRLRLRLRL

As Harry sat in the Gryffindor common room that night, he was still smiling from the day's earlier events. He looked over to see Ron fast asleep and drooling on his barely started Potions essay and Hermione buried deep into a very large and very old looking book. Hermione had forgiven them, but only after telling them that they would be doing all their own homework for a whole week with no help. He let out a heavy sigh as he looked at his own half-way finished Potions essay, deciding that he wasn't going to get any farther tonight. Packing his stuff up, he quietly bid Hermione good night before heading for his dormitory. When he got there he was surprised to see a small brown and white owl sitting on his bed, waiting expectantly. He untied the letter from its foot, giving it an owl treat before sitting down on his bed and opening the letter. He didn't recognize the writing, but read it anyway.

_**Dear Harry,**_

_**Congratulations on a very well performed Infatuation spell.**_

Harry was shocked. Who knew that he had used an Infatuation spell, and more importantly, who would congratulate him on his success? His curiosity drove him to keep reading the letter.

_**You probably do not realize this, but you are so very much like your father and your actions today are good proof of it.**_

_The person who wrote the letter knew my father,_ thought Harry excitedly.

_**Your father was very much a prankster and came up with the very same spell when he was about your age. I'm glad to see it has been resurrected by you. Your father would have been very proud of you to see you following in his footsteps.**_

_**Although I am not in a position to advise this behavior in my class, I strongly advise you, as a close friend of your father's, to continue practicing magic in creative ways.**_

_**Yours Truly,**_

_**Professor Lupin**_

_Professor Lupin wrote this letter? He wasn't mad that I used him as the object of Hermione's affection? He knew my father? _thought Harry. It made sense; he was about the same age his father would've been. Harry got ready for bed, his mind spinning. He was deliriously happy to know that his father would've been pleased. Smiling, he fell asleep.

RLRLRLRLRLRLRLRL

Remus went to sleep that night feeling less tired and old than usual. He had decided to write to Harry when he realized that Harry deserved to know about his similarity to his father. He was also pleased that he had been able to ensure that he wouldn't have to deal with another young witch having a crush on him. _Oh, yes_, _today was a good day indeed, _he though with a smile before being taken by blissful sleep where he dreamt of the old days.

~Thanks for reading! Please review


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